Originally Posted By: hatt
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
It penetrates hard barriers well because it uses a decent grain bullet at a relatively high velocity. A 125 grain round running 1300-1500FPS has good velocity and energy. Its downfall is that it costs a lot, and it limits capacity compared to a 9mm. Capacity is the same as .40 S&W chambered guns. overall energy is about the same as .40 S&W rounds when comparing data on ballistics 101. Its velocity is what gives it the ability to penetrate well through glass and light steel.
Back to cost when considering a .357sig. A hot 9mm round from buffalo bore or Corbon will propel a 9mm 115gr +p bullet out to 1300-1400 FPS. A hot +P or +P+ 9mm in the 115gr to 124gr weights will provide similar penetration as a 357 sig for a lot less money.
The velocity is almost the same, and the bullet weight is similar. The .357sig has a slight advantage in all out performance, however the 9mm smokes it in price, availability, and capacity. The 357sig also has considerably louder blast as it is a necked .40 case.
In short .357sig is BA, but it is not half as practical, and its performance is not exponentially greater than 9mm or .40S&W
They are all weak compared to Rifle rounds. Ballistic wise most semi-auto handgun loads perform pretty much the same. The .357 sig is a stellar performer and is probably the round the .40 should have been from the beginning, but it is far to expensive to be practical.
Id love to have a sig P320 in 357sig, but i dont want to feed it. at $37 a box of 50 for target ammo its expensive to shoot.
I can shoot 9mm for a third of that and .40S&W for half. its a no brainer. The means for extra training with 9mm or .40 is far more important than any ballistic advantage the .357sig may or may not offer.
You can't compare Buffalo Bore/etc specialty 9mm ammo to Speer and Federal duty Sig ammo. Underwood has 125 Gold Dots hitting 1500+ out of 4 inch Glocks. Apples to apples the Sig wins against the 9mm. If you look at the Speer ballistic charts the Sig penetrates more than 9mm/40/45 almost every time. A big plus if you're trying to win gunfights. You do lose a couple rounds in the mag but if you're shooting to slide lock in 13+ cap guns I doubt the last few rounds are really doing too much.
357 Sig ammo also isn't $40 a box. You can get it very easily for $20/box of 50. Cost is really a non issue. If you do shoot a lot there's no requirement to shoot .357 Sig exclusively. And you'd already have a reloader. Most people shoot two or three boxes a year, maybe.
I'll accept that. Here is a better comparison using two popular LE loads.
9mm;
-Federal 124gr +p HST velocity= 1200fps
-Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot Velocity = 1220fps
.357sig
-Federal 125gr HST velocity = 1350fps
-Speer 125gr Gold Dot velocity = 1350fps
9mm in duty loads offers ~90% of the velocity at a lower cost.
For me to buy .357sig I have to pay $37 for a box of 50 FMJ locally. You can find it online in the $20 range but you have to tack on another $8 a box to ship it. In Indiana that is fine as it is a "free" state. Many in other states do not have the option to have ammo shipped to their doors.
I can buy brass cased 124 grain FMJ 9mm locally for $12.95 a box of 50 to practice with. I can also buy brass cased 165gr FMJRN .40S&W locally for $15.95 a box of 50 to practice with. Even if I order .357sig online it is at least twice the price to practice.
Due to .357sig having a necked case it is also a lot harder to reload. It is definitely cheaper, but more of a pain than straight cases.
I am a fan of the .357sig. I think it is an awesome round, but it just isn't as cost effective yet. I hope it catches on in the market and gets more popular. As i stated in another post I am going to purchase a sig p320 in .357sig in the future. I have no hate for the round, quite the opposite, but the truth is 9mm can do 90% of what .357sig can at half the cost or less.
Originally Posted By: donnyj08
It penetrates hard barriers well because it uses a decent grain bullet at a relatively high velocity. A 125 grain round running 1300-1500FPS has good velocity and energy. Its downfall is that it costs a lot, and it limits capacity compared to a 9mm. Capacity is the same as .40 S&W chambered guns. overall energy is about the same as .40 S&W rounds when comparing data on ballistics 101. Its velocity is what gives it the ability to penetrate well through glass and light steel.
Back to cost when considering a .357sig. A hot 9mm round from buffalo bore or Corbon will propel a 9mm 115gr +p bullet out to 1300-1400 FPS. A hot +P or +P+ 9mm in the 115gr to 124gr weights will provide similar penetration as a 357 sig for a lot less money.
The velocity is almost the same, and the bullet weight is similar. The .357sig has a slight advantage in all out performance, however the 9mm smokes it in price, availability, and capacity. The 357sig also has considerably louder blast as it is a necked .40 case.
In short .357sig is BA, but it is not half as practical, and its performance is not exponentially greater than 9mm or .40S&W
They are all weak compared to Rifle rounds. Ballistic wise most semi-auto handgun loads perform pretty much the same. The .357 sig is a stellar performer and is probably the round the .40 should have been from the beginning, but it is far to expensive to be practical.
Id love to have a sig P320 in 357sig, but i dont want to feed it. at $37 a box of 50 for target ammo its expensive to shoot.
I can shoot 9mm for a third of that and .40S&W for half. its a no brainer. The means for extra training with 9mm or .40 is far more important than any ballistic advantage the .357sig may or may not offer.
You can't compare Buffalo Bore/etc specialty 9mm ammo to Speer and Federal duty Sig ammo. Underwood has 125 Gold Dots hitting 1500+ out of 4 inch Glocks. Apples to apples the Sig wins against the 9mm. If you look at the Speer ballistic charts the Sig penetrates more than 9mm/40/45 almost every time. A big plus if you're trying to win gunfights. You do lose a couple rounds in the mag but if you're shooting to slide lock in 13+ cap guns I doubt the last few rounds are really doing too much.
357 Sig ammo also isn't $40 a box. You can get it very easily for $20/box of 50. Cost is really a non issue. If you do shoot a lot there's no requirement to shoot .357 Sig exclusively. And you'd already have a reloader. Most people shoot two or three boxes a year, maybe.
I'll accept that. Here is a better comparison using two popular LE loads.
9mm;
-Federal 124gr +p HST velocity= 1200fps
-Speer 124gr +P Gold Dot Velocity = 1220fps
.357sig
-Federal 125gr HST velocity = 1350fps
-Speer 125gr Gold Dot velocity = 1350fps
9mm in duty loads offers ~90% of the velocity at a lower cost.
For me to buy .357sig I have to pay $37 for a box of 50 FMJ locally. You can find it online in the $20 range but you have to tack on another $8 a box to ship it. In Indiana that is fine as it is a "free" state. Many in other states do not have the option to have ammo shipped to their doors.
I can buy brass cased 124 grain FMJ 9mm locally for $12.95 a box of 50 to practice with. I can also buy brass cased 165gr FMJRN .40S&W locally for $15.95 a box of 50 to practice with. Even if I order .357sig online it is at least twice the price to practice.
Due to .357sig having a necked case it is also a lot harder to reload. It is definitely cheaper, but more of a pain than straight cases.
I am a fan of the .357sig. I think it is an awesome round, but it just isn't as cost effective yet. I hope it catches on in the market and gets more popular. As i stated in another post I am going to purchase a sig p320 in .357sig in the future. I have no hate for the round, quite the opposite, but the truth is 9mm can do 90% of what .357sig can at half the cost or less.